View full sizeJerry Campbell | Special to the Kalamazoo GazetteFile photo Dec. 2009. Dir Jim Turner takes applause from the crowd after the first series of tunes.The "BachFest Christmas "with the Bach Festival Chorus under the direction of Jim Turner and accompanied by the Western Brass Quintet at Stetson Chapel, at Kalamazoo College.KALAMAZOO — The Kalamazoo Bach Festival used inspired programming Saturday night for a compelling concert titled “’Tis Music That Has Warm’d Us — Operas of Henry Purcell (1659-1695).”

Purcell moved up on my preferred composer list after Saturday’s program. Conductor James Turner focused on excerpts from three Purcell operas. The Bach Festival Chorus was accompanied by Ars Antigua, an early music instrumental ensemble. Performing on authentic-styled instruments were violinists Martha Perry and William Bauer, violist Nancy Yagiela, cellist Pablo Mahave-Veglia, bassist Jerry Fuller and harpsichordist Gregory Crowell. Following a ragged start, the group played effectively.

The dramatic agility of Purcell’s operas derives from his having written voluminously for the secular stage in Restoration England. Yet he also was a premier organist and composer for important church posts and for the court. Purcell’s genius simply dominated musical and theatrical culture in England.

“Scene of the Drunken Poet” from “The Fairy Queen “(1692) opened the all-Purcell program at Stetson Chapel, providing a standout performance. A semi-opera — part masque, part oratorio, part spoken theater — it was inspired by Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream. ”

James Bass was marvelous as the Drunken Poet. With a dynamic bass voice of commanding projection and timbre, Bass transformed lyrics and music into accessible meaning. Moreover, he sang the English text with impeccable articulation: no one else approached such verbal clarity.

First Fairy (Penning), Second Fairy (Jeffrey) and the Chorus interacted with the drunken poet. Penning’s sound was lovely and her runs solid, but muffled diction was a liability. The Chorus exhibited buoyant enthusiasm while closely following Maestro Turner’s attacks, releases and dynamics. The pianissimo ending “Let ‘em sleep till break of day” was breathtaking.

A short section of “Dido and Aeneas” contained good singing by Penning as Dido — especially her “When I Am Laid in Earth.” The Chorus’s “With Drooping Wings” was elegantly sung. The concert concluded with the Third Act of Purcell’s “King Arthur” (1691). Bass as Cold Genius gave a tour de force performance of “What Power Art Thou.” By separating syllables, he sang suspended staccato notes, imitating the chipping of ice or chattering of teeth. Penning as Cupid, offered good runs (“No Part of My Dominion”) but minimal verbal clarity. The Chorus (of Cold People) amused in “See We Assemble,” following Bass’s rhythmic technique of separated staccato notes.